


"G" is for Gentle and Gradual

by geekprincess26



Series: The Jonsa Alphabet Chronicles [2]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Headcanon, Hurt/Comfort, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 00:49:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11909751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geekprincess26/pseuds/geekprincess26
Summary: Sansa has suffered horribly at the hands of men.  Jon knows that winning her heart will take patience and understanding, and he's more than willing to give her both.





	"G" is for Gentle and Gradual

**G**  is for  **Gentle**  and  **Gradual**.

Jon knows about the rape, torture, and other horrors Sansa has suffered at the hands of Joffrey, Ramsay, and their ilk.  He sees the way her body shifts subconsciously toward his when she is surrounded by men, even her own bannermen.  He knows life has taught her not to trust men, and that makes him treasure her trust in him all the more.

So when the politics of the realm force him and Sansa into an arranged marriage, he is quick to assure her that he will never touch her against her will or force his way into her bed.  She protests that the Northern throne must have heirs, and that he would not have to force her anyway because she wouldn’t fight him if he touched her.  But she trembles when she says it, and he says firmly that they can have heirs when she is truly ready, and not before that.  She trembles again on their wedding night, but Jon still does not touch her.  Instead, he leaves the bedroom so she can change into her nightclothes, and only returns when she is fully clothed.  He offers to sleep on the floor, and when she refuses, he folds up one of the blankets and lays it down over the middle of the bed so that he does not roll over next to her (or, gods forbid, on top of her) in his sleep and frighten her when she wakes.  When morning arrives, he smiles and gives her a gentle greeting, and then leaves the bed at once so she can dress in privacy.

Over time, Sansa stops trembling when they go to bed together, and more and more often she reaches for his arm when they stroll through the godswood, or fingers a tear in the chest of his tunic, or kisses his cheek when he presents her with some little gift or other.  She does not turn away when he brushes a lock of hair out of her face or tenderly kisses her forehead when wishing her good night.

One day, he kisses her lips - just a brush, and not before giving her time to turn away.  She doesn’t turn away, though.  She returns his kiss, and his hands reach up to cup her face and stroke her temples, and this time when she trembles it is not from fear.

It takes weeks after that yet for Sansa to be comfortable with him kissing her more deeply or upon her throat and shoulders, but Jon is always gentler than she dared hope.  One night she lets him see her in her shift, and another soon after that, she takes off the shift to show him her scars.  She rubs her shoulders nervously and apologizes for his having to see the ugliness of her bare body, but he kisses a scar on her shoulder and whispers that she is beautiful and perfect, and at first he tastes tears on her lips when he kisses them.  But the tears dry up, and soon Sansa is turning the tables and kissing his scars, and the trembling has left not only her body but her eyes and her smile.  And when she lets Jon into her bed and her body and her heart at last, he wonders not at how long it took for her to accept him but at how blessed he is that she should accept him at all.

He doesn’t know that she herself wonders what she ever did to deserve the brave, strong, gentle man Father had promised her all along.


End file.
